


All That We See or Seem

by Water_Nix



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Cabeswater - Freeform, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4085878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Water_Nix/pseuds/Water_Nix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is something in the air. Something that has loosened a bolt in Ronan's chest, loosened his tongue in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All That We See or Seem

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Leave something to my imagination, Parrish, for the love of... _fuck_."

Adam stands before him, stripped of all clothing but his underwear—dark green boxer briefs the colour of the evergreens they've just walked under—his fingers dipped beneath the elastic waistband, pulling his last scrap of clothing lower and lower on his hips.

And Adam smirks. He fucking _smirks_. "Your imagination, huh? And what have you been imagining, Lynch?"

"Fuck you."

"Probably just that... Quit your complaining and take off your clothes. We're going for a swim."

But Adam respects Ronan's request and leaves his underwear on, although he doesn't pull them back up. They rest low, his lower back dipping in and the top of his ass barely covered by the fabric.

Cabeswater has surprised them with a lake where there wasn't a lake. A new obstacle for Adam to tackle in his quest to heal the ley line. Today they're on a search for a place Adam had seen in a vision. The lake, of course, Cabeswater had not bothered to inform him of. Maybe Cabeswater wants to see Adam naked as much as Ronan does.

Ronan toes off his boots, watching the sun dapples on the water. Watching anything but Adam and the wide expanse of his shoulders, anything but the bare canvas that is his back. Ronan shucks off his jeans and tosses his shirt into the grass. Where Ronan's tattoo sweeps over the top of his spine and down to his shoulder blades, Adam has his own design. Freckles like constellations break up the pristine ivory of his skin.

Ronan's grandmother had called freckles _sun-kisses_ , love from the sun itself. Had Adam's shoulders ever had the chance, the time to be kissed by the sun? Ronan didn't know for sure, didn't know if Adam had spent hours shirtless, frolicking outside on a summer day. If he had lain on the grass until he was red and beaded with sweat. Maybe the sun had never kissed Adam Parrish's skin, but Ronan Lynch sure wants to.

He averts his eyes.

"You can look if you want to. I don't mind."  

The words make his heart pick up speed. He looks over to find Adam dipping his toes into the water as if to test its temperature. He pulls them back swiftly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing more or less than exactly what I said." He glances back at Ronan from over his shoulder.

Ronan watches his face. His expression is serene. He dips his toes in the water again, pulls them back again. "You confuse the fuck out of me, Parrish."

Adam shrugs one shoulder. His chest heaves as he takes one deep breath before he strides into the lake. "Join the club."

There is something in the air. Something that has loosened a bolt in Ronan's chest, loosened his tongue in the process. He watches Adam dive under the water and resurface, and follows after him.

*

Dripping and exhausted, they move around rocks and a fallen tree. Adam stands back and scratches his head, muttering to himself. Ronan may complain when he joins Adam on these treks, but he loves it really. He loves watching Adam perform this magic. He always knows when it isn't enough. He always knows when they've really finished their work. He can read Cabeswater like one of Gansey's tomes.

"There's more further on," Adam says. He nods to himself and strides toward a wall of rock.

Ronan has just reached the smooth wall when Adam hisses something under his breath and pulls him behind a tree.

Adam's eyes flit around; his head is tipped to one side, good ear pointed upward. He holds Ronan's arm in a tight grip.

"Wha—" Ronan begins, but Adam shushes him. He holds his finger over Ronan's lips.

Adam presses his mouth in close to Ronan's ear. Ronan can feel the heat of his body, the moisture of his breath. "I thought I heard someone," he whispers. He slides his finger from Ronan's lips and rests the hand on Ronan's bare chest. Ronan closes his eyes. He counts to three in his head and tries to take a step backward, only to find himself trapped against the rock.

"Look," he whispers back, "I'm trying really fucking hard not to pop a boner right now, so could you back the fuck off?"

Adam pushes in closer. Ronan can feel his smile on the side of his head. "What are you thinking of to keep it away? Something gruesome?"

"For fuck's sake, Parrish. Are you torturing me on purpose?"

"No." Adam moves away. Ronan opens his eyes to find him peering around the corner. "It's all clear."

They round the wall.

"' _Pop a boner_ ,' really? Are you twelve years old?"  

Ronan exhales through his nose and gnashes his teeth. "Fuc—"

And he is falling.

_At least there's water_ , he thinks when he hits it. He snaps his mouth shut as he goes under. Adam's limbs snake around him, pulling him deeper until Ronan gets a good hold on him and kicks, pushing them both toward the surface.

" _Gave out_ ," Adam is gasping. He coughs. "What the _hell_?"

Ronan looks up. They are in an underground grotto. He can see light splintering in from above through the hole in the earth through which they fell.

"We've got to bring Gansey and Blue back here," Ronan says. "I don't think this place is natural."

They swim to the edge of the pool and climb out onto the surrounding stones. The grotto is round with rough-hewn walls like a natural cave, but there is something deliberate about it that Ronan can't seem to place.

"There's a door," Adam says. His fingers encircle Ronan's wrist. "Let's get out of here."

They labour through the dark. Ronan's eyes never adjust. He and Adam walk closely, arms brushing, hands clasped. Ronan guides himself along with his free hand outstretched and his fingers walking along the rock wall.

Adam's hand in his is heavy and wet with sweat. Adam starts to speak several times before he huffs and stops in his tracks. Ronan stumbles with a curse.

" _Sorry_. Sorry, I... I just need to say something before we—" Adam starts. He releases Ronan's hand. "I want you to know... It's not like I'm not attracted to you, because I am. I _really_ am. It's just... I want to be sure. That I can do this with you before— I would never mess around with you unless I was sure. You're too important to me."

Ronan can feel him draw closer, feel a shift in the air, the proximity of heat, the electric tingle of magic. "And so," Adam continues, his voice pitched lower, "I'm going to have to ask you to pretend I never did this."

Lips. Soft and calescent and the slightest bit damp, as though Adam had licked them just before pressing in. He catches Ronan's bottom lip and kisses it lightly before readjusting and hitting them both. His mouth is open, his breath hot. Ronan feels the tip of his tongue flick against his own and gives in completely.

He makes a sound—something like a moan that would embarrass him if he was with anybody else. Adam's hands slide up his jaw and behind his ears to cradle his head. His tongue presses in with more surety. Ronan responds in kind and Adam makes his own embarrassing sound.

And then he pulls back.

Their breathing is harsh in the silence underground. Adam gently removes his hands. He leans his forehead on Ronan's shoulder.

"Guess we'd better both start thinking of something gruesome," Adam says, his voice gravelly. He slides a hand slowly down Ronan's side and over his hip, and then it disappears. His mouth is still whisper-close to Ronan's ear. "I think it's this way." He moves away.

The loss of him is palpable. Ronan tries not to care. Ronan tries to do as Adam asked and forget it ever happened.

_It was a dream. It was another dream._

There is light up ahead. Adam picks up speed. Ronan can make out his outline, awash with the green and gold of the world outside.

When he steps out into the bright sunshine, he doesn't allow himself even one glimpse of Adam's sun-kissed shoulders. He picks up his pace and takes the lead so he isn't tempted to let his eyes wander.

_It was just another dream._


End file.
